Fuel-Flex SOFC Running on Internal Gradual Reforming

Abstract

Electrolyte-supported single fuel cells based on yttria-stabilized zirconia components with a ceria-based catalytic layer added to the anode were operated with three different fuels: hydrogen, methane, and ethanol. Methane and ethanol were directly fed to the fuel cells without water or any oxidizing agent. Fuels were interchanged during continuous polarization and fuel cell accumulated ~160 hours of operation delivering comparable current densities for each fuel. Such result was supported by stability curves, impedance spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses, which showed that deleterious carbon deposits are absent in the anode of tested fuel cells.